October 1 Rootstock Concert Reschedule

Friends and Supporters of Rootstock -

In light of the unprecedented devastation due to the hurricanes affecting our fellow farmers in the South as well as the wildfires on the West Coast, we feel it's of vital importance to keep resources and attention focused on those who need it most now.

We are rescheduling this October's festival to spring of 2018, and will be announcing the new date in the next couple of weeks. It will feature the same world-class lineup of musicians, with local farms, food trucks, non-profits, and loads more fun and exciting ways to support our farmers here in the Northeast. The events unfolding in the South and West right now are tragic reminders that farmers throughout the country will need support in coming seasons as they deal with changing climate conditions, and we look forward to building a base of support for our neighbors in New York.

While we are incredibly disappointed on a personal level to have to wait for the fantastic musical party we've been planning for the last several months, the times immediately following crises such as these are critical to the recovery of those affected, and we feel that focusing attention on them now is the right thing to do.

We will be posting updates of our own on-going activities to support farms here in the Northeast, but if you are looking for ways to help those devastated by Hurricanes Harvey and Irma, as well as the western wildfires, please consider contributing to Farm Aid. They have partnered with regional and local organizations to get farms the help they need in the quickest, most effective way possible. Read about their efforts and contribute to the Farm Aid Family Farm Disaster Fund Here.

Our thoughts go out to our sister and brother farmers affected by these disasters.

"Houston: We Feel Your Pain. Aug 29, 2011." Those were the words on the lighted sign outside the Rotterdam Junction, NY fire department yesterday as I drove from my family's farm in the Mohawk Valley back to my home in the Hudson Valley. From one valley to another. 6 years ago yesterday a friend of the family, a fellow farmer, the patriarch of a farm family in the Schoharie and Mohawk Valleys, lost his life driving through standing water to inspect his fields flooded by Hurricane Irene. 6 years ago tomorrow my brother came home with a look on his face I'll never forget. He spent the day pulling dead cows out of flooded barns. Irene wasn't even a hurricane by the time it got around to knocking on the Northeast's door. That wording didn't matter to the folks in upstate NY, in VT, NH... We were devastated. Six years later you can still see the scars, if you know where to look.

Yesterday we announced that Rootstock 2017 will take place on October 1st, right down by the river in Beacon. The money that we raise will go towards establishing an emergency relief fund for local farmers, to help them keep going in the immediate wake of natural disasters. However, farmers are one big community, joined by our commitment to the land, to growing and feeding our neighbors, and by the soil in our veins. The Northeast farming community knows firsthand the pain and suffering our sisters and brothers in Texas are going through, and our hearts are breaking with them. So in support and solidarity with our fellow farmers in Texas, we're donating at least 10% of this year's net proceeds from the Rootstock festival to flood relief and recovery efforts for Texas farmers.

Hang in there, Houston. We know how you feel- and we know how tough farmers (and Texans) are. We're with you, and sending you all our love and support.

It's time for ROOTSTOCK 2017: a celebration of music and local agriculture dedicated to “helping farmers stay rooted!” On October 1st, 2017, from 12pm-6pm at Scenic Hudson’s Long Dock Park in Beacon, NY (steps from Metro North railroad), a live concert featuring four nationally acclaimed American roots, bluegrass, and folk artists will raise funds to establish emergency relief grants for Northeast farmers in crisis. In partnership with the American Center for Folk Music, the concert will feature two-time International Bluegrass Music Association Entertainers of the Year (and former dairy farmers), The Gibson Brothers, as well as the Shockenaw Mountain Boys (featuring four founding members of Railroad Earth), award-winning singer songwriter Sloan Wainwright, and farmgirl-fronted roots-rockers Daisycutter.

Head on over to the CONCERT page to find out more! (Can't attend but still want to support us? You can donate HERE. Thanks!)